House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) wholeheartedly defended Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) leadership on Monday, after eight members of the Democratic caucus supported advancing a short-term funding patch over the weekend.
Jeffries, when asked during a press conference whether he believes Schumer is effective and should remain as the Senate’s minority leader, simply said, “Yes and yes.”
He went on to say, “The overwhelming majority of Senate Democrats, led by Chuck Schumer, have waged a valiant fight over the last seven weeks, defeating the partisan Republican spending bill 14 or 15 different times, week after week after week.”
The statements are a marked shift from earlier this year, when Jeffries demurred to answer several times whether he believed it was time for new leadership in the upper chamber after Schumer led nine Democrats in advancing a stopgap funding measure in March.
Jeffries railed against the deal struck in the Senate on Sunday to end the government shutdown, which did not include an extension of expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies that Democrats in both chambers have been calling for in exchange for their votes.
“Our fight in the House of Representatives will continue to address the Republican healthcare crisis,” Jeffries said. “We’ll continue that fight today, tomorrow, this week, next week, this month, next month, this year, next year, we’re going to continue that fight to fix our broken healthcare system and lower the high cost of living to the American people.”
House Democrats are meeting on Monday to discuss the Senate deal, with Jeffries telling reporters that part of the discussion will include whether leadership will whip against the legislation.
The Senate’s agreement would fund the government until the end of January and includes funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program until the end of fiscal 2026. It also reverses layoffs conducted by the Trump administration during the shutdown and freezes future layoffs until the funding patch expires.
Notably, the deal did not advance with Schumer’s support; the New York Democrat voted “no” on Sunday. However, seven Democrats and Sen. Angus King (I-ME), who caucuses with Democrats, broke ranks to deliver the votes needed in the upper chamber to overcome the filibuster, reigniting questions about Schumer’s leadership.
THE SENATE DEMOCRATS WHO VOTED WITH REPUBLICANS TO REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT
“Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) wrote on X Sunday. “If you can’t lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?”
Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA) similarly called on Senate Democrats to get new leadership, writing, “Chuck Schumer has not met this moment and Senate Democrats would be wise to move on from his leadership,” in a post to X Monday.